


Dangerous Connections Version Two

by JasonMorganfan87



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Team as Family, Timothy McGee Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-07 17:39:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12846195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasonMorganfan87/pseuds/JasonMorganfan87
Summary: This is a rewrite to a story I had on another site.  After learning that there are targets on their backs, Tim and Gibbs learn that they have not only a common enemy but also common loved ones. How will they react to the news? And will they be able to protect themselves and the ones they love or will they all be killed





	1. Chapter 1

Tim walked into the bullpen of NCIS and headed for his desk. He had a very sour look on his face. He was not having a good day. It was the twenty-four of October. Not many knew this, but it was a day he hated with a passion. He had hated it every year for the past ten years.

"Hey, Probie," Tony said as soon as he saw him.

Tim simply grunted in response and sat at his desk.

"What's up with you McSourpuss?" Tony asked.

"Back off, Tony, okay? Just let me be today," Tim said before powering up his computer so he could get to work.

"Well, someone obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Come on, what's got your knickers in a twist?" Tony pushed.

"Tony, he has asked to leave him alone. He will talk about it if and when he wishes," Ziva said.

Tim gave her a half smile in appreciation. It was all he could muster at this point.

"Oh, McGee, Abby called a few minutes ago looking for you," Ziva said.

Tim groaned. He knew what Abby wanted. Abby was the only one on the team that knew what this day meant to him. He'd told her when they started dating. He felt he owed it to her. She'd deserved to know before they started any kind of relationship.

"You better not keep her waiting, Probie. Then you'll really have a bad day," Tony said with a grin.

Tim didn't really wanna go see Abby, but then again the sympathy he'd get from Abby couldn't be worse than sitting there and listening to Tony. So he got up and headed for the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into the lab and found it strangely quiet. Usually the place was blaring with music. Today it was quiet. "Abby?"

Abby came out of her office and immediately went over to him and gave him a hug. "Hey, Timmy. How are you?"

"I've been better," Tim said before pulling away. "It's kind of quiet in here."

"I figured you wouldn't wanna come into loud music today. I know how hard this day is for you. It's gotta be harder this year. It's the big ten year mark. It should be a really happy occasion for you," Abby said.

"But it's not. Look, I appreciate what you're doing, but I just wanted this day to pass without what it means being addressed," Tim said.

Abby cringed. "I guess it's a little late now. Sorry," Abby said.

"It's okay. I know you mean well. Look, can we just forget about it now and go on like it's a normal day?" Tim asked.

"Can I ask you something first? Why don't you just end it? It would be pretty easy under the circumstances," Abby said.

"I should. I know I should. I should've done it years ago. I should've just ended it and moved on with my life. But I couldn't and I can't now. I just can't bring myself to," Tim said sadly.

"I really think you should. I know it'll be hard, but you can't go on like this forever. Letting go will hurt, but you'll be able to move on. You deserve that. You deserve to be happy," Abby said.

Before Tim could respond, his phone started ringing. "McGee. Yes, Boss, I'll be right there," he said before hanging up. "I'm needed in the director's office."

"Okay, I'll see you later. Wait, Timmy, I know I'm not the one you wanna hear it from, but I think you should hear it at least once. Happy anniversary."

"Thanks, Abs," Tim said with a fake smile before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim made it back to the bullpen less than five minutes later. From there, he climbed the stairs to the director's office. He walked past Vance's assistant and into his office. He found Gibbs standing in front of the director looking none too pleased. "You wanted to see me, Director."

"Yeah, you gonna tell us what's going on now?" Gibbs asked impatiently. Vance had called him up there but refused to tell him anything until McGee got there.

"McGee, have you noticed anything strange lately?" Vance asked.

Ti frowned. "Like what?"

"Like the feeling that you're being followed?" Vance asked.

"What? No. Who would be following me?" Tim asked. He couldn't think of anyone who would wanna follow him. Any enemies that he had wouldn't be following him. They might try to kill him, but they wouldn't follow him.

"I don't know, McGee, but someone is," Vance said before holding out a file for him.

Tim took the file and opened it up. He was immediately greeted with pictures of himself that were obviously taken from a distance. There were pictures of him coming out of a coffee house, leaving his apartment, even pictures of him and his team while at crime scenes. "Oh my God."

Gibbs leaned in to see what his agent was looking at. He then looked at Vance with an angry look on his face. "Where the hell did these come from?"

"Metro found them. The person who took them was recently shot and killed. He had the pictures on him when he was found," Vance said.

"Who was it?" Gibbs demanded to know. He wanted to know who exactly was targeting one of his people and why.

"They don't know. He didn't have any ID on him. It's up to you to find out. The case is being turned over to us now since it seems one of ours was this guy's target," Vance said.

Gibbs turned to Tim. "You're staying with me until this is over."

"Boss, that's not necessary. I'll be fine on my own," Tim said.

"Not up for debate, McGee. This bastard had you under surveillance while you were working. None of us had any idea you were being followed. We're obviously dealing with pros here, so we're not taking any chances. It's either with me or in a safe house with two guards," Gibbs told him.

Tim sighed. He didn't like either choice, but one was slightly less imposing than the other. "With you, Boss."

"Thought so. Let's get to work," Gibbs said before walking out of the room.

Tim sighed and followed his Boss. Oh, yeah. This was the worst day ever.


	2. Chapter 2

A few minutes later, Gibbs and Tim were back in the bullpen with the rest of the team. Tony, who had been on the phone, hung up and turned to Gibbs. "Boss, that was Metro. The body and evidence gathered it "on route, it'll be here soon. They're faxing a photo of the body over now though."

As if on cue, Tony's fax machine went off and a photo slowly appeared. He immediately took it out.

Tim went over to his colleague and took the picture. The man had black hair and brown eyes. "I've never seen this guy before. I don't know who he is."

Gibbs walked up to him. "He was probably a hired gun, McGee. You wouldn't know him."

"But I should've at least seen him. He's been following me for a few weeks at least. I should've seen him at least once. God, I should've known someone was following me," Tim said. He felt like an incompetent idiot. He was a federal agent for God's sake. He should be aware of his surroundings. He should know when he's being watched.

"McGee, none of us knew. Look, there are photos of you with the rest of us at crime scenes," Ziva said as she held up a photo of Tim and Tony in NCIS uniforms outdoors. "None of us noticed that someone was watching you."

"I can't believe someone had the nerve to follow one of us while we were on the job," Tony said.

"Alright, McGee, you've gotta think. Who has a reason to stalk you like this?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't know, Boss. I can't think of anyone who would wanna have me followed or any reason for them to do it," Tim said honestly.

"There's gotta be something," Gibbs said.

"It's could be about a case, Boss. I mean, we do make a lot of enemies with what we do," Tony said.

Gibbs wasn't so sure of that. If it were about a case, they would all be targets. Still, he'd consider the possibility. He wouldn't assume it wasn't about a case. Now wasn't the time to go breaking his own rules.

"Start going through our cases from the last few months. See if anyone looks good for it. Focus on McGee's part in all of them," Gibbs ordered.

"We're on it, Boss," Tim said before moving to go back to his desk.

Gibbs grabbed his arm to stop him. "Not you. I need you to keep thinking about who would do this."

"Boss, I told you, I don't…" Tim trailed off at the look his boss was giving him. "I'll keep thinking," he said before going to his desk and sitting down.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim was still seated at his desk. He'd thought as hard as he could about who could be following him and why, but he'd come up absolutely nothing. Other than on the job, he had no real enemies. No one had any reason to stalk him like this.

Tim was soon pulled from his thoughts when Tony walked through the bullpen carrying an evidence box. "Evidence is here, Boss," he said before bringing it over and putting it on Gibbs' desk.

Tim and Ziva got up and followed Tony over to see what they had.

Tony opened the box and began going through it. He pulled out the file and handed it to Tim.

Tim opened it and immediately started reading. "Hispanic male listed as a John Doe. He was shot in the back of the head. That's really all that's here."

"Yeah, there's not much else here either. We've got samples of his blood. I'll send that to Abby. We'll have to wait on Ducky for the bullet. Oh, here's his cellphone," Tony said as he took it out.

"McGee," Gibbs said simply.

"On it, Boss," Tim said before taking the phone from Tony and going back to his desk to fiddle with it.

"Tony, go ahead and take the blood to Abby. We need to find out who this guy is now," Gibbs said.

"Uh, Boss, I have some texts here, but they're in Spanish," Tim said.

Ziva went over to him. "Let me see, McGee."

Tim immediately handed her the phone.

"Well, there are no names used, but the dialog is very telling," Ziva said.

"Read 'em," Gibbs ordered.

Ziva immediately began reading aloud. "'We have been following them for months and there is still nothing."

"Them? What do you mean them? I thought he was just tailing McGee," Tony said.

"Maybe there are more pictures of the rest of us elsewhere. So maybe it is about NCIS," Tim said.

"I do not think it is about NCIS. I do not even think it is really about you," Ziva said.

"Why?" Tim asked.

"Because the text goes on. It says, 'There is no contact on either end. I say we kill them and draw the bitches out,'" Ziva read.

"So what, Probie's bait? And who else is targeted. He keeps saying 'them'," Tony said.

"Keep reading, Ziva," Gibbs said. He wanted the answer to Tony's question too. He was hoping it would be in the texts.

Ziva read to herself for a minute and then looked up in confusion. "This does not make sense.

"What does it say?" Tim asked.

"It says, 'Fine, but only kill one of them. Kill the boy. The girl will come out of hiding to avenge her husband," she read.

"Well, that obviously isn't about McGee. It must be one of the other targets," Tony said.

Gibbs, meanwhile, was staring at McGee. The younger man's face was drained of all color and he looked to be shaking. McGee obviously thought the texts were him. "McGee?"

Tim looked at his boss. He knew he looked as terrified as he was. There was no possible way for him to hide it. "I... Boss, I..."

"Elevator," was all Gibbs said before getting up and leading the way.

Tim got up and followed his boss, completely oblivious to the confused looks Tony and Ziva were giving him.


	3. Chapter 3

Gibbs stepped inside the elevator and waited for McGee to do the same. He then waited for the doors to close and hit the emergency switch. "You got something you wanna tell me, McGee?"

"I…I think that last text was about me," Tim said. He wanted to be wrong. He wanted more than anything for the person he loved more than anything to not be involved in what was going on right now, but he got the very horrible feeling that she was.

"You married, McGee?" Gibbs asked. It was possible that the bastard who'd sent that last text had been wrong, that he'd made assumptions he shouldn't have, but McGee's demeanor said otherwise.

"Yeah. Yeah, Boss, I'm married," Tim admitted.

"How long?" Gibbs asked.

"Ten years to the day. It's my anniversary today," Tim said. And what an anniversary it had been. This had been the worst yet. He didn't really like this day in general, but this had been the worst one yet. Not only did he have to spend his anniversary without his wife, but now there was a hit out on him and his wife. He wasn't sure it could get any worse.

"You've been married since before you started here? You dated Abby," Gibbs growled. He was pissed. Abby was like a daughter to him and McGee had used her to cheat on his wife. Never in a million years did he think McGee could do that, but he was admitting to just that.

"It's not like that, Boss. Abby knows I'm married. I told her before things got serious," Tim said.

"She knows," Gibbs repeated skeptically. He found it hard to believe that Abby would get involved with a married guy. That wasn't the kind of person she was.

"Yeah. Look, it's a very complicated situation. I love my wife, but I haven't seen her in nine years," Tim said.

"What?" Gibbs asked in confusion.

Tim laughed humorlessly. "You think you're confused? Try waking up one morning to find your wife gone. There was no warning. I just woke up and she had disappeared. All that was left was a 'Dear John' letter telling me that she was leaving and she wasn't coming back. She said I should move on with my life. Like I could do that. Like I could just pick up my life like she didn't exist."

"Nine years, McGee? Why didn't you file for divorce?" Gibbs asked. McGee would've been able to get a divorce easily, even without his wife being around. Actually, it would be easier because her not being there would be a reason for it to be pushed through quicker. She'd deserted him after all.

"I…I can't. I've accepted that she's not coming back. I took the rings off and everything, but I can't bring myself to end my marriage. Because I don't want it to end," Tim said. He really did know he shouldn't hold on like this, but he couldn't help himself. He loved his wife so much. The idea of severing their relationship officially was just too much to bear.

"You don't wanna let go," Gibbs said. He got it. He understood wanting to hang on, even when realistically you know there's nothing left to hang on to. After Shannon and Kelly died, he refused to change anything in his house for nearly a year. He wouldn't even move their things an inch because that would mean he was letting them go. "Alright, let's focus on the case. If that last text was about you, that means you're bait for your wife. Any idea who would wanna hurt her?"

"No. God, I can't think of anybody with any reason to wanna hurt her. I mean, she's not a cop and she doesn't work with sensitive material. She's a computer programmer for God's sake," Tim said. That was actually how the two of them hit it off. They'd met while he was doing some temporary work for a computer company a couple of years before he joined NCIS. They'd hit it off. It really just made no sense for someone to be after her. It made more sense for them to use her to get to him.

"Well, someone obviously does," Gibbs said.

Tim shuddered. The idea of someone wanting to hurt his wife terrified him. He wouldn't be able to handle anything happening to her. He lived with her leaving him, but he couldn't live with something happening to her. That would shatter him.

"What's her name? We have to find her," Gibbs said.

"Kelsey. Kelsey Gilbert," Tim said. That was her full name anyway. The people she was close to called her Kelly, but Gibbs didn't need to know that. It would probably upset him as his own daughter was called that.

"Any idea where she might be?" Gibbs asked.

Tim shook his head.

"Any idea who the other woman or women might be?" Gibbs asked.

"What?" Tim asked in confusion.

"There was more than one woman mentioned in the texts," Gibbs reminded him.

Tim thought for a minute. The answer came quick. It was Kelly's mother. She would be involved in whatever Kelly was. The two of them were always close. Actually, the three of them were always close. His mother-in-law told him on more than one occasion that she considered him her son. The feeling was very much mutual. She was more of a parent to him than either one of his. In a lot of ways, her abandonment hurt worse than Kelly's because of that fact. "Her mother. It has to be her mother."

"And her name?" Gibbs asked.

"Sharon. I really don't understand this, Boss. I don't understand why anyone would wanna hurt either of them. They're great women."

"We don't have all the answers, McGee. We will get them. However, this may give you one answer. You've spent the last nine years wondering why your wife left you. This might be your answer. It's very possible she was trying to protect you," Gibbs said. He doubted knowing that would make the hurt and anger go away, but at least McGee would be able to find some solace in the fact that his wife probably didn't leave him because she stopped loving him.

Tim considered that. Gibbs was right. There was a good chance this threat had been after Kelly for a long time now. All this time he'd thought she left because she no longer loved him, but maybe she had been trying to protect him. It still didn't make it okay though. He would've preferred her tell him the truth and let him help. "I don't wanna be protected, Boss. I wanna help her the way a husband is supposed to. We have to find her."

"We will. We'll find them both. There's something else we need to talk about though. The guy who wanted to kill you is dead. He was trying to draw your wife out. There's a possibility he already did," Gibbs said.

Tim stared at his boss, who was staring at him very intently. He shook his head as soon as he realized what Gibbs was implying. "No. No, she didn't do this. She's not a killer."

"Tim, this guy was going to kill you. If she loves you even a quarter as much as you love her, do you really think she wouldn't consider it? Wouldn't you do it?" Gibbs asked.

Tim kept shaking his head. "No, you don't know her."

"Neither do you apparently," Gibbs said. He wasn't trying to hurt the kid, but he wanted him to realize that he might be wrong about what his wife was capable of.

"I know she wouldn't kill anyone. I'm done talking about this," Tim said firmly before flipping the switch back on. He'd never spoken to Gibbs like that, but he wasn't going to listen to his wife being called a killer. He just wasn't.


	4. Chapter 4

A few hours later, Tim walked into Abby's lab to find it blaring with music and her working hard at her computer. "Abby!"

Abby immediately turned around. "Timmy," she said before launching herself into his arms. "I heard what happened. Are you okay?"

Tim pulled away. "I've had better days."

"I can't believe someone's trying to kill you. Who would wanna hurt you?" Abby asked. She couldn't think of any reason for anyone to hurt McGee. He was the nicest person in the world.

"You didn't hear that much, huh?" Tim asked. He then explained everything they'd learned about the people that wanted him dead and why.

"So someone's using you to get to your wife?" Abby asked.

"It seems that way. Though I can't think of any reason anyone would wanna hurt Kelly. She's an amazing woman. She'd never hurt anyone," Tim said.

"I thought your wife's name was Kelsey," Abby said.

"It is. Her mother calls her Kelly though and she asked me to do the same," Tim said.

"Oh. Whenever I hear the name Kelly, I think of Gibbs' daughter. I guess it's a common name though. How are you doing with this?" Abby asked. She knew he couldn't be doing all that well. His wife was in serious danger, and despite the pain and anger, she knew he still loved her very much.

"Not great. There are people out there who want to kill my wife and the woman I consider more my mother than the woman to actually bring me into this world, and they're trying to use me to do it," Tim said stressed. He was absolutely terrified. This was his family. They might not have been around for years, but Kelly and Sharon were still his family and he couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to them.

"Yeah, it is bad. At least now though, you know Kelly didn't leave you because she stopped loving you. She left because she wanted to protect you," Abby said.

"Yeah, Gibbs said the same thing. And you're right, that probably is the reason, and it does take the pain of thinking she stopped loving me away, but she still left. They both still left. It still hurts and it still makes me angry. Nobody asked me if I wanted to be protected," Tim said with anger in his voice.

"Still, it means they love you. That's more than you believed this morning. And you still love them, McGee. It's like you said, they're your family. You were hurt by them, but you still love them," Abby said.

"Yeah," Tim admitted. He did still love them. He couldn't deny that. He loved them more than anything. Nothing that had happened in the past could change that.

"Maybe you can get them back. Maybe you can stop the danger, whatever that is, and be with your family again," Abby said. She really hoped he could. She knew how much Tim missed his wife. No one else was able to compare to her. She was the love of his life. The fact that he never filed for divorce and could never move on was proof of that.

Before Tim could respond, he heard noise coming from Abby's computer telling her that she had some kind of match.

"That's the results from the blood Tony gave me," Abby said before going over to the computer.

Tim followed her. "Well?"

"The guy who tried to kill you is Juan Garcia. He's got quite the rap sheet. He was brought in on drug and robbery charges since he was eighteen until twenty-two. Then there's nothing," Abby said.

"I guess it's on me to find out what happened after that. Thanks, Abs," Tim said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

An hour later, Tim was sitting at his computer trying to find out information on Garcia. He finally found what he was looking for. "Boss, I got it. Juan Garcia was born in Mexico and was brought here when he was five. He became a citizen a year later. After his last arrest when he was twenty-two, he returned to Mexico. That was eight years ago. He came back to the US three months ago."

"Any idea where he lives?" Gibbs asked. They needed to get into his apartment and see what they could find to figure what all of this was about.

"Yeah, I looked that up too. He lives in my apartment building. He' a floor down from me," Tim said somewhat unnerved.

"Man, Probie, this guy really was stalking you," Tony said in a concerned voice. This was all really scary. He had to wonder how close his friend really was to being murdered.

"Alright, let's go. We're checking out that apartment," Gibbs said before standing up.

The rest of the team grabbed their gear and followed Gibbs towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Twenty minutes later, the team was in Garcia's apartment collecting evidence. Tim was looking through a desk in the corner. He'd come to a desk drawer that was locked. He fiddled with it for about ten minutes and then managed to get it open. Inside, he found more pictures. What surprised him was that they weren't pictures of him.

Tim jumped up and rushed over to Gibbs. "Boss, I've got more pictures here. These ones aren't of me."

Gibbs took the pile of photos Tim was holding and found himself face to face with himself. There were pictures of him leaving and returning home, getting coffee, there were even pictures of him leaving the grocery story.

Now Gibbs was pissed. How had this bastard managed to follow him without him knowing it? He prided himself with knowing everything that was going on around him. He didn't know this though. He had no idea anyone was following him.

"Boss, this doesn't make sense. I mean, we knew he was following me and why, but why would he follow you. You have nothing to do with my wife," Tim said.

It was a good question? Why was he being followed? If this was about McGee's wife and mother-in-law, it made no sense to come after him. He had never even met either woman. "Don't know, McGee, but I will find out."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Tim followed Gibbs into his house. "Boss, I should be back at the office trying to figure out who's after us, or at least working to locate my wife and mother-in-law."

"Nothing's getting solved tonight, Tim. All sitting at your desk will accomplish is running yourself ragged. That won't help anyone, least of all your wife. You need to eat and get some sleep. There are takeout menus on the counter in the kitchen. Look through them and figure out what you want. I'll be back in a minute," Gibbs said before heading upstairs.

Tim sighed and went towards the kitchen. He wasn't hungry, but he knew a direct order when he heard it.

Tim had just started flipping through the menus when he felt something press on the back of his head. He knew what it was immediately. The trigger end of a gun.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim went completely still when he felt the gun on the back of his head. He knew he was dead if he made a false move. Oh, who was he kidding? He was dead anyway. This man wanted him dead and he had him right where he wanted him. He wouldn't even be able to put his hand on his gun before he was dead.

"Listen to me very carefully, kid. Take your gun out slowly and put it down on the counter," the man behind Tim said quietly, but with a deadly tone.

Having no other choice, Tim slowly reached for his belt and took his gun from it. Then, just as slowly, he placed it on the counter. "If you kill me, you're as good as dead. My boss is upstairs and he will kill you before you even make it out of this house.

"Take two steps towards the living room and then turn around.

Tim slowly walked sideways a couple of steps. He immediately noticed the pressure from his head disappear. He then turned around to get a look at the man. It was causation man who looked to be in his fifties with balding brown hair. He also looked like a force to be reckoned with. "Who are you?"

"Call me, Nick. And I have no intention of killing you. That would make saving your ass kind of redundant, wouldn't it?" Nick asked before putting his gun away

"What?" Tim asked in confusion.

"You don't think that SOB following you got dead on his own, do you?" Nick asked with a smirk.

Shock became evident on Tim's face. "You killed Juan Garcia? Why?"

"To keep him from killing you. I thought I was clear on that," Nick said.

"Why would you care if I live or died? And what the hell was this about? Why put a gun to my head if your goal is to save me?"

"It's called self-preservation. You carry a weapon and you have a price on your head. The last thing I need is to startle you and have you shoot first and ask questions later. It was better to disarm you first. As for your other question, it's not about caring whether you live or die. I was hired to do a job and I will do that job to the best of my ability," Nick said.

At that moment, Gibbs walked in. He had his gun out in a second. "Who the hell are you?"

"I think he's some kind of body guard, Boss. He said he's here to protect me," Tim said. There was some skepticism in his voice. Sure, the guy hadn't shot him, but that didn't mean he could be trusted.

Gibbs glared at the man in front of him. "Protect him, huh? Exactly what are you protecting from?"

"Not my place to explain and no time to do so. He's got a price on his head and I'm sure you're right behind him. I've got orders to get him out of here now. You weren't mentioned, but that has more to do with the fact that the person who asked me to do this doesn't know you're in this," Nick said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but no one's going with you," Gibbs said firmly with his gun still aimed at the man.

Nick laughed. "Well, I'd be concerned if you did agree to go with me without a fight. But you will come or you'll die. You don't matter so much since they think you're dead anyway. He's another story."

"Who is 'they'?" Tim asked.

"Rather than give you an explanation you won't believe, I'll let someone else do it for me," Nick said before going to reach into his pocket.

"Hey! Keep your hands where I can see them!" Gibbs yelled.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would've done it before either of you even knew I was here," Nick said before continuing into his pocket and pulling out his cellphone. He pressed a single button and placed the phone to his ear. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here, but like we figured, I'm being met with resistance.

After a second, Nick handed the phone out for Tim. "She'd like a word."

Tim frowned in confusion, but took the phone and placed it up to his ear. "Hello."

"Hello, Tim," a female voice said.

Tim recognized the voice immediately. It had been nine years since he heard it, but she was for all things that mattered, his mother. He wouldn't forget her voice. "Sharon? Sharon, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. I need you to listen to me very carefully and do exactly what I say. Your life is in extreme danger right now," she said seriously.

"Yeah, I know. There was a guy following me and he planned to kill me. He's dead now," Tim said.

"He's only one of about a hundred. Your life is in extreme danger. I'm sorry, Tim. We didn't want this to touch you, but it has and we have to act fast. You need to go with Nick now. He will protect you."

"What? You want me to just go with some guy I don't know? No, I can't just do that. You have to tell me what's going on first," Tim said. He was sick of this. He was sick of the lies and the games. If Sharon wanted something from him, she had to tell him what was going on first.

"Listen to me!" She said in a very stern and fierce voice

Tim stopped immediately. It wasn't often he heard that tone of voice from the woman, but when he did, it was no different than when Gibbs used it. Disregarding it was essentially suicide. "I…I'm listening."

"You are going to do what I say here, Timothy. You are going to go with Nick now and he's going to bring you to me. I am not going to let you place your life in jeopardy because you're angry with us! This is not up for discussion! Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tim said. He couldn't help himself. He felt very much intimidated right now. In fact, there was only one person in the world that could intimidate him like that and he was standing just a few feet away from him.

"Good. Listen, I know you're upset right now. You have a right to be. I am going to explain this to you later, but right now, I need you to be safe. So please do what I say," she said. Her voice was much softer this time.

"Okay," Tim said before handing the phone back to Nick, who stepped out of the room.

Gibbs, who'd since put his weapon away walked over to his agent. "What the hell is going on, McGee. Did you just agree to go with his bastard?"

"Well, it was more like I was told I was going with him, but same difference I guess. The woman on the phone was my mother-in-law. She can be just as intimidating as you in her own way," Tim said.

"We'll see about that. This isn't happening, McGee. You're not going off with this guy just because some strange woman told you too," Gibbs said firmly.

"Boss, she may be strange to you, but she's not to me," Tim said.

"Isn't she? She's been lying to you since you've known her," Gibbs reminded him.

Tim cringed slightly as he was reminded of his family's betrayal. It did strike a nerve, which he was was his boss' intention. "That may be true, but she's still my family. She's not your typical mother-in-law. She's been more like my mother. I wanna see her and I wanna see my wife. God, I wanna see my wife. So, yes, I am going to go. I'm going to see my family. Wouldn't you do the same if you were me?"

Gibbs stared at Tim for a minute. He wanted to berate him some more, but how could he? How could he fault McGee for wanting to see his wife when he longed for the same thing every day? "You're not going alone. If you're doing this, I'm going with you."

"I think that's what the plan was anyway," Tim said.

"Grab your gun and let's go. You're not leaving without it," Gibbs said before walking towards the living room.

Tim grabbed his gun off the counter and followed.


	6. Chapter 6

Gibbs kept looking at his watch as they drove. They'd been in the car now all night. It was nearly seven in the morning. His didn't like this. He was in a car with a stranger with a gun going God knows where to meet more strangers. This went against every instinct in him. The only reason he'd even agreed was because McGee was gonna go no matter what he did and there was no way he was letting him go alone.

Gibbs looked over at Tim. The younger man looked almost as anxious as him, but it was likely for other reasons. He wasn't afraid. He believed he was perfectly safe right now. He was just anxious to see his family again. Gibbs supposed he couldn't blame him for that, though he wished the young agent would exercise a little more caution right now. They were walking into an unknown situation.

Tim looked over at his Boss. He could tell the man did not like the position they were in right now. He couldn't blame him. From an agent's perspective, it wasn't exactly the best idea. "Boss, I know you don't like this, but it's the right choice."

"If these people are telling the truth, maybe, but what if they're not. What if this guy is the threat and he intimidated your mother-in-law into getting you to go with him?" Gibbs asked. The thought had occurred to him multiple times since they left. This could all just be a ruse to get them away somewhere.

Tim chuckled. "Trust me, Boss, the only intimidation going on was on her part. She's in charge here, not him," he said as he nodded towards Nick up front.

"If you're so sure this is the right call, why'd you say no at first," Gibbs said. He'd heard the phone call from Tim's side. He'd told his mother-in-law no in the beginning.

"Because I was angry. I hadn't spoken to Sharon in nine years. When I finally hear from her, she tells me to go off with someone who had just put a gun to my head. I wanted an explanation," Tim said.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at Tim. "He put a gun to your head?!"

Tim looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "Oh, I didn't mention that, did I?" There was a reason he hadn't mentioned it too. Gibbs would never have agreed to this if he'd told him that. It was just that in his sleep deprived state, he'd forgotten that he hadn't mentioned it.

"You agreed to get into a car with a man who put a gun to your head? Are you crazy?" Gibbs asked in disbelief. He couldn't believe the stupidity. McGee was smarter than this. He was an agent for God's sake. Though he shouldn't have to be an agent to know not to trust someone who held you at gunpoint.

"It was only for a minute, Boss, and if he wanted to kill me, he could've done it right then and there without a problem. He wanted to disarm me, he didn't want me dead," Tim said.

Before Gibbs had a chance to respond, the car was pulled into a driveway at the end of the street they were driving on.

Nick stopped the car and turned to Tim and Gibbs. "Let's go."

Tim and Gibbs immediately got out of the car. Gibbs had his hands on his gun as they walked into the house. He was going to be prepared in case this got bad.

Tim looked around. He was in a spacious living room that held a dark blue couch, a matching loveseat across from it, a glass coffee table in the middle, and TV stationed in front. There were no signs of Sharon or Kelly though. "Where are they?"

"Hopefully upstairs packing," Nick said.

"Packing?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, you've all gotta be moved to a new location. You didn't really think this was it, did you, kid? What'd you think that one meeting and the danger surrounding all of you would go away? Sorry to tell you, but you said goodbye to your life last night," Nick said.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Gibbs demanded to know.

"I'm going to find out," Tim said before taking a step towards the stairs to go find his wife and mother.

Gibbs grabbed ahold of Tim's arm to stop him. "Hey. You're not going anywhere alone."

"Boss, I'll be fine. I need to find out what's going on. I need to talk to Sharon, and I need to do it alone," Tim said. He knew if Gibbs came up with him, he'd just start barking orders. Sharon wouldn't take well to that. She was a very understanding woman most of the time, but she could also be very fierce, especially when it came to her family. If Gibbs accused her of trying to hurt him, she wouldn't respond well. "Look, I'll only be upstairs. You'll hear if anything happens."

"McGee, I swear to God, if anything happens, the head slap I give you will compare to none other you've ever had," Gibbs growled. He didn't like this. He downright hated this, all of it, but McGee felt he knew what he was doing and he would trust that for now. Besides, he wasn't all that crazy about leaving this Nick guy alone down here. He wanted to keep an eye on him.

"Yes, Boss," Tim said with a slight smile before heading upstairs. He started calling out as soon as he got to the top. "Sharon? Kelly?"

The door to one of the bedrooms opened and a young woman with long, light brown hair and piercing blue eyes stepped out. She smiled as soon as she laid eyes on Tim. "Tim."

"Kelly," Tim said as he stared at his wife intently. She was just as beautiful as he remembered, maybe even more so. God, he'd missed her so much. He couldn't believe that after so long, he was finally with her again. He'd given up hope a long time ago that this would ever happen.

After a few moments, Kelly walked forward and wrapped her arms around her husband. "I've missed you so much, Tim."

Tim hugged her back fiercely. He felt tears stream down his eyes almost immediately. He was so happy right now. No matter how angry he had been over the years, and still was, he loved this woman more than anything in the world. He was glad to have her back in his life, back in his arms.

Kelly pulled away after a minute. "I know I'm a day late, but happy anniversary."

Tim chuckled a little. "You too. Where's your mother?"

"She'll be back soon. She just went to pick up some supplies," Kelly said.

"Supplies for what? What's going on? The guy that brought us here said that life as I knew it was over."

"Yeah, Nick can be kind of an ass. His job is to ensure our safety though and he does that very well," Kelly said.

"Who's after you, Kelly? Why would anyone wanna hurt you? I can't think of anything you guys could do to anybody that would make them want to hurt you," Tim said.

"Come on," Kelly said before grabbing her husband's hand and leading them into her bedroom. She brought him over to the bed and they sat down. "It's not about what we did, it's about what we saw. Or more accurately, it's about what my mother saw. I was a kid at the time. My mother saw a murder and she decided to testify against the killer. She wanted to do the right thing. She didn't know how much it would change her life or mine."

"So the people that are after you are the people she testified against?" Tim asked.

"She didn't get the chance to testify. They tried to kill us first. The only reason we're alive is because of Nick. He saved our lives. We've been hiding ever since. The guy that Mom was going to testify is dead, but the people he worked for want us dead on principal. They're not going to stop until we're dead." Kelly said.

"Why not go to the police? They'll stop them," Tim said.

"It's not that simple. The cops can't stop all of these guys. They're too powerful. One of them is stopped and another just takes his place. The danger will never go away. That's just something we've come to accept over the years," Kelly said.

"So these people came after me to try to get to you guys. They were hoping to lure you out of hiding. What does this have to do with my boss though?" Tim asked. That part was still very unclear. What was Gibbs' role in this?

Kelly frowned in confusion. "Your Boss? What are you talking about?"

"My Boss was being targeted too. He's downstairs right now. The guy that was following me was following him. Hard to believe anyone being stupid enough to follow Gibbs, but he was," Tim said.

Kelly stared at her husband in astonishment. "Did you just say Gibbs?"

"Yeah, my Boss. His name's Gibbs," Tim said.

"What's his full name?" Kelly asked. Her heart was beating about a mile a minute as she anticipated her husband's answer. It couldn't be, could it? No, it couldn't. He'd died over twenty years ago in battle.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Why, what's wrong?" Tim asked. His wife had become more and more pale the more he spoke. Something was definitely off and it had something to do with Gibbs.

Kelly jumped up raced out of the room.

Tim immediately chased after her. "Kelly, what's wrong?!"

Kelly ran downstairs. She stopped at the landing and stared. He was there just a few feet away from her. Her blue eyes met his. She recognized him immediately. It didn't matter how many years had passed or how much either of them had changed. She knew him. "Dad."


End file.
